waters the species has perhaps been amoncr the oldest finny inhabitants, 

 but the northern migration, beginning in early spring, has never been 

 regular until within the past sixty years. At present the bluefish ranks 

 next to the striped bass in game qualities, among the sea fishes found in 

 the vicinity of New York and Massachusetts, and in the commercia 

 fisheries, it is exceeded in value only by the codfish and mackerel. 



The most popular method of fishing for bluefish is squidding or troll- 

 ing. This consists in trailing a spoon or squid of ivory, bone or metal, at 

 the ehd of a line some three hundred feet long, the motive power being 

 a fast sailing sloop or cat-boat, handled by a capable seaman. A heavy 

 sinker should be attached to the line, and some fishermen use a trolley 

 sinker with a large hook set in the end. The schools of bluefish can 

 usually be located by the large number of menhaden jumping from the 

 • water in their efforts to escape from the pursuers, and the soaring gulls, 

 frequently hovering close to the surface to pick up the mangled remains 

 of victims killed but not eaten by the ocean pirates, will also point the wa}' 

 for the angler. 



A rising tide is considered the best stage of water for bluefishing, but 

 either extreme of the ebb and flood tide ma}' lead on to fishing of good 

 quality. Chumming is a method of fishing also adopted by many sea 

 fishers, the style being similar to that emplo\^e<l in surf fishing for striped 

 bass. It is said that the bluefish will frequently take the fly — and keep it! 

 If you "have any to bestow, he prefers the large ones, of bright and 

 assorted colors," thus proving his gay and festive nature as a blue blooded 

 buccaneer of the high seas. The bluefish strikes fiercely, and from the 

 instant he is hooked until he is brought to boat the " fun is fast and furi- 

 ous." He fights till the last gasp, sometimes breaking the surface, then 

 rushing deep into the ocean caves, and varying his defensive tactics by 

 darting from side to side, and occasionally coming forward at full speed, 

 overrunning the hooks. Taken all in all (if he is taken at all) the bluefish 

 is a game fish of high rank, and a food fish of excellent quality. ^_^ ^^^_ ^- 



